Senate Appropriations Committee

The annual spending law for FY 2016 increases spending at the National Institutes of Health by 5.8 percent over FY 2015 levels and provides similar boosts to NIH institutes important to the physical sciences, including the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.

The annual spending law for FY 2016 increases spending at the National Nuclear Security Administration by 9.9 percent over FY 2015 levels and the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy by 8.0 percent. The law also provides direction on nuclear research, development, and safety matters, including the medical isotope molybdenum-99, inertial confinement fusion energy, advanced reactor concepts, and used nuclear fuel disposition.

The annual spending law for FY 2016 increases spending at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by 5.8 percent over FY 2015 levels and provides direction on matters including the nation’s next generation weather satellites, the next generation of weather radar technology, and a number of research and weather and water modeling programs.

The annual spending law for FY 2016 increases spending at the National Institute of Standards and Technology by 11.6 percent over FY 2015 levels and provides direction on matters including research into disaster resilient buildings, advanced photonics, the Materials Genome Initiative, and quantum measurements.

The annual spending law for FY 2016 increases spending at NASA by 7.1 percent over FY 2015 levels and provides direction on matters including the James Webb Space Telescope, research aboard the International Space Station, and numerous scientific missions in development that will study the earth, sun, the rest of the solar system, and beyond.

The annual spending legislation for FY 2016 would increase spending at the Department of Energy Office of Science by 5.6 percent over FY 2015 levels and provide direction on matters including the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, next-generation supercomputing, climate modeling, and a slew of physical sciences facilities and projects.

The annual spending legislation for FY 2016 would increase spending at the National Science Foundation by 1.6 percent over FY 2015 levels and provide direction to the agency on matters including research grant transparency, the replicability of scientific research, technology transfer, the future of supercomputing, astronomical sciences facilities and STEM education.

Congressional negotiators released the FY 2016 annual spending bill, which would boost year-over-year funding to the science agencies and offices, ranging from a 1.6 percent increase for the National Science Foundation to an 11.6 percent increase for the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Congress approved a major bipartisan budget agreement, negotiated with the White House, that increases discretionary spending by $80 billion total in FY 2016 and FY 2017, creating room for boosts to spending at federal science agencies and offices starting this year

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